Business View Magazine | July 2022

165 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 7 BVM: When was HCEA established and what is the current mandate? Feehan: “HCEA was founded in 1930 and has gone through several iterations. It was originally started with the idea of uniting different industry stakeholders from three primary groups. That would be healthcare exhibitors (medical, pharmaceutical, and device manufacturers), the healthcare exhibition industry (associations that put on the exhibitions, meeting organizers), and the industry suppliers who service that industry. The goal was to bring all of those together to promote healthcare convention marketing and exhibitions as a vital component of the healthcare mix. “Prior to DTC (direct to consumer) marketing, the primary source for information about healthcare – specifically for physicians – was at these annual meetings. That was where your typical HCP would go to get information on new products, new studies that were happening, where they could enroll patients in clinical studies. As a group, we saw this as a valuable endeavor, so HCEA was formed and has been working to promote healthcare convention and exhibit marketing ever since.” BVM: What benefits does HCEA offer to your members? Feehan: “There are three groups that make up our membership. The corporate members (healthcare companies, manufacturers), associations is the second group, and the third tier is industry partners or suppliers. All members are equal. Currently, we have about 830 members from all over the world in our organization. “Education is our primary benefit. So for those who are new to the healthcare exhibiting industry, HCEA is specifically dedicated to healthcare marketing, which has very unique facets. Things you can do at a regular exhibition, you can’t necessarily do at a healthcare HEALTHCARE CONVENT ION & EXHI B I TORS ASSOC I AT ION Sean Feehan, President-Elect of the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association